“The latest example comes from the state of Arizona, whose Governor, Jan Brewer of Arizona signed a bill into law, giving local police the power to inquire about a person’s immigration status if they suspect them to be an illegal immigrant, just based on “reasonable suspicion,” and to make arrests if they are not carrying a valid driver’s license or identity papers. This law not only preempts the federal role in immigration regulation but encourages — in no uncertain terms — racial profiling.”
The countdown is on. Half a million supporters of comprehensive immigration reform rallied across the country on May 1 to protest SB 1070, Arizona’s prohibitive new anti-immigration law and ratchet up pressure for a federal reform bill this year. In Washington, DC, police arrested a dozen demonstrators, including Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), after they engaged in non-violent civil disobedience, as Esther Gentile reports for New America Media.
The Phoenix Suns, who have made it to Game 2 against the San Antonio Spurs, are making a fantastic, political statement by sporting basketball jerseys that will read “Los Sons” to “honor the Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation.”
From local Arizona cops to top police chiefs, with expertise in community policing, law enforcement is taking a firm stand against Arizona’s controversial new immigration law, SB 1070. Over the weekend, Chief Art Acevedo of Austin, TX wrote an op-ed in the Austin American-Statesman warning that Governor Jan Brewer and the Arizona legislators who signed the law “declared open season for criminals to target immigrants” and “killed community policing in the state.” Chief Acevedo says Arizona’s own history with crime shows why the new law is dangerous.
Arizona has taken center stage in the debate about how to fix our badly broken immigration system. What people may not realize is that police associations and top cops around the country and across the state oppose the new law SB1070. In fact, the first lawsuit against SB1070 was filed last week by a 15-year veteran of the Tucson police force.
April 29, 2010
Anti-immigrant fervor could be more costly than Arizona lawmakers expected. Thanks to SB 1070, a new law that requires immigrants to carry papers at all times to prove their legal status, the state has become the focal point of the national immigration debate. The bill and the buzz surrounding it illustrates a desperate need for a federal fix to the broken immigration system.
April 28, 2010
Our new video might be outrageous, but it’s nothing compared to Arizona’s new immigration law.
Last night, Rachel Maddow exposed the network operating behind the Arizona’s new SB 1070 bill – notoriously known as legislation that promotes racial profiling.
From the neo-nazi-hugging Arizona senator, Russel Pearce, who introduced the bill, to the Federation of American Immigration Reform — designated as a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center — who wrote it (and could profit off of it!), Maddow takes a close look at the operatives behind this anti-immigrant legislation
Phoenix Mayor, Phil Gordon, and Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, are condemning Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s move on Friday to sign the controversial SB 1070 into law. Gordon’s primary focus is on the adverse implications this bill will have on community safety. By diverting police attention from capturing dangerous criminals to rounding up immigrants (and Latinos who leave their wallets at home), this bill has the alarming ability to alienate a population that would otherwise be helpful in reporting and reducing real crime.
Meghan McCain says what her father should have said on SB1070:
Let me say upfront that I do not support the bill that was signed by Governor Jan Brewer.
